System and control method

Abstract

This system comprises: a first acquisition unit that acquires, from an inspection facility that has rollers capable of rotating while supporting wheels of a vehicle and executes inspection of the vehicle using the rollers, the magnitude of a first speed, which is the peripheral speed of the rollers; a second acquisition unit that acquires the magnitude of a second speed, which is the peripheral speed of the wheels, during execution of inspection using the inspection facility; and a control unit that increases the braking force of the vehicle and causes the wheels to move off the rollers upon determining that there is a risk that the wheels will move off the rollers using at least one of the acquired magnitude of the first speed and the acquired magnitude of the second speed.

Description

System and control method Cross-reference to related applications

[0001] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-006717 filed on January 17, 2025, and the entire disclosure thereof is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This disclosure relates to a system and a control method.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for running a vehicle autonomously or remotely in a vehicle manufacturing process.

[0004] Japanese Patent Translation of PCT International Publication No. 2017-538619

[0005] In a vehicle manufacturing process, there is an inspection performed while running the vehicle on a rotatable roller. During this inspection, if a difference occurs between the magnitude of the circumferential speed of the wheel and the magnitude of the circumferential speed of the roller due to some abnormality, the wheel may deviate in either the front or rear direction from the roller. Since the direction in which the wheel deviates depends on the actual magnitude relationship between the magnitude of the circumferential speed of the wheel and the magnitude of the circumferential speed of the roller, it is difficult to predict. Therefore, a technique capable of controlling the direction in which the wheel deviates is desired.

[0006] This disclosure can be realized in the following forms.

[0007] (1) According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a system is provided. This system comprises: a first acquisition unit that acquires the magnitude of a first speed, which is the peripheral speed of a roller, from an inspection facility having a roller that is rotatable while supporting the wheel of a vehicle and performing an inspection of the vehicle using the roller; a second acquisition unit that acquires the magnitude of a second speed, which is the peripheral speed of the wheel, while performing the inspection using the inspection facility; and a control unit that, when it determines that there is a risk of the wheel deviating from the roller using at least one of the acquired magnitude of the first speed and the acquired magnitude of the second speed, increases the braking force of the vehicle and deviates the wheel from the roller. According to this embodiment of the system, when the control unit determines that there is a risk of the wheel deviating from the roller using at least one of the magnitude of the first speed and the magnitude of the second speed, it increases the braking force of the vehicle and deviates the wheel from the roller. For this reason, the wheel can be deviated in the opposite direction to the driving direction of the vehicle in the inspection facility. That is, the direction in which the wheel deviates can be controlled. In addition, according to this embodiment of the system, the braking force of the vehicle is increased and the wheel is deviated from the roller. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which the driving force of the vehicle is increased to deviate the wheel from the roller, it is easier to change the peripheral speed of the wheel in a shorter time. That is, the wheel can be deviated from the roller in a shorter time. (2) In the system of the above embodiment, the control unit may increase the braking force of the vehicle and deviate the wheel from the roller when the difference between the magnitude of the acquired first speed and the magnitude of the acquired second speed exceeds a predetermined range. According to this system embodiment, the wheel is deviated from the roller when the difference between the magnitude of the first speed and the magnitude of the second speed exceeds a predetermined range. Therefore, by setting a range of acceptable differences between the magnitude of the first speed and the magnitude of the second speed as a predetermined range, the wheel can be deviated from the roller when the difference exceeds that range. (3) In the system of the above embodiment, the control unit may adjust the magnitude of the braking force according to the difference. According to this system embodiment, the control unit adjusts the magnitude of the braking force according to the difference.Therefore, by setting an appropriate braking force according to the difference, the speed of the vehicle after the wheels deviate from the rollers can be suppressed. (4) In the system of the above embodiment, the control unit may increase the braking force to a first braking force when the magnitude of the acquired first speed is greater than the magnitude of the acquired second speed and the difference exceeds the predetermined range, and increase the braking force to a second braking force greater than the first braking force when the magnitude of the acquired second speed is greater than the magnitude of the acquired first speed and the difference exceeds the predetermined range. According to the system of this embodiment, the control unit increases the braking force to a first braking force when the magnitude of the acquired first speed is greater than the magnitude of the acquired second speed and the difference exceeds the predetermined range, and increases the braking force to a second braking force greater than the first braking force when the magnitude of the acquired second speed is greater than the magnitude of the acquired first speed and the difference exceeds the predetermined range. Therefore, when the peripheral speed of the roller is greater than the peripheral speed of the wheel, a relatively small first braking force can be applied to deviate the wheel from the roller in the opposite direction of the wheel's drive at a relatively slow speed. Also, when the peripheral speed of the wheel is greater than the peripheral speed of the roller, a relatively large second braking force can be applied to quickly bring the peripheral speed of the roller to a state where it exceeds the peripheral speed of the wheel. This prevents the wheel from deviating from the roller in the drive direction and allows the wheel to deviate from the roller in the opposite direction of the wheel's drive.

[0008] In addition to the system form described above, this disclosure can also be implemented in other forms, such as a control device, a vehicle, a control method, a program for implementing the control method, or a program product including the program. The program product may be, for example, a non-temporary recording medium on which the program is stored, or intangible software that can be distributed via a network.

[0009] This is a conceptual diagram showing the system configuration in the first embodiment. This is a block diagram showing the system configuration. This is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the inspection equipment. This is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for vehicle driving control in the first embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the procedure for vehicle braking control. This is a diagram for explaining braking control. This is an explanatory diagram showing the schematic configuration of the system in the second embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for vehicle driving control in the second embodiment.

[0010] A. First Embodiment: <Overview of System 50> Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of System 50 in the first embodiment. System 50 comprises one or more vehicles 100 as mobile bodies, a server 200, and one or more sensors 300.

[0011] In this disclosure, “mobile object” means an object that can move, such as a vehicle or an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (so-called flying car). A vehicle may be a wheeled vehicle or a tracked vehicle, such as a passenger car, truck, bus, motorcycle, car, or construction vehicle. Vehicles include electric vehicles (BEVs: Battery Electric Vehicles), gasoline vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles. If the mobile object is not a vehicle, the terms “vehicle” and “car” in this disclosure may be replaced with “mobile object” as appropriate, and the term “driving” may be replaced with “moving” as appropriate.

[0012] In this embodiment, the vehicle 100 is configured to be able to run unmanned. "Unmanned operation" means operation without the operation of a passenger. Operation of the vehicle means operation related to at least one of the following: "going," "turning," or "stopping." Unmanned operation is achieved by automatic or manual remote control using a device located outside the vehicle 100, or by autonomous control of the vehicle 100. A passenger who does not perform operation of the vehicle may be on board the vehicle 100 while it is running unmanned. A passenger who does not perform operation of the vehicle includes, for example, a person who is simply sitting in the seat of the vehicle 100, or a person who is performing work other than operation of the vehicle, such as assembly, inspection, or operation of switches, while on board the vehicle 100. Operation by a passenger is sometimes called "manned operation."

[0013] In this specification, "remote control" includes "fully remote control," in which all operations of the vehicle 100 are completely determined from outside the vehicle 100, and "partial remote control," in which some operations of the vehicle 100 are determined from outside the vehicle 100. Furthermore, "autonomous control" includes "fully autonomous control," in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own operations without receiving any information from external devices, and "partial autonomous control," in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own operations using information received from external devices.

[0014] In this embodiment, the system 50 is used in a factory FC where the vehicle 100 is manufactured. The reference coordinate system of the factory FC is the global coordinate system GC, and any position within the factory FC can be represented by X, Y, and Z coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The factory FC comprises a first location PL1 and a second location PL2. The first location PL1 and the second location PL2 are connected by a track TR on which the vehicle 100 can travel. The vehicle 100 moves from the first location PL1 to the second location PL2 via the track TR by unmanned operation. Assembly and various inspections for the manufacture of the vehicle 100 are performed at the first location PL1 and the second location PL2.

[0015] Inspection equipment 500 is provided at the second location, PL2. Vehicle 100, having moved to the second location, PL2, moves onto the inspection equipment 500 by unmanned operation and undergoes inspection. Details of the inspection equipment 500 will be described later.

[0016] Multiple sensors 300 are installed at the first location PL1, the second location PL2, and the track TR. The sensors 300 are located outside the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the sensors 300 capture the vehicle 100 from outside the vehicle 100. The sensors 300 are composed of, for example, cameras. The sensors 300 are equipped with a communication device (not shown) and can communicate with other devices such as the server 200 via wired or wireless communication.

[0017] <Configuration of Vehicle 100> Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the system 50. The vehicle 100 includes a vehicle control device 110 for controlling various parts of the vehicle 100, an actuator group 120 including one or more actuators driven under the control of the vehicle control device 110, a communication device 130 for communicating wirelessly with an external device such as a server 200, and a rotation speed sensor 140. The actuator group 120 includes actuators for a drive system to accelerate the vehicle 100, actuators for a steering system to change the direction of travel of the vehicle 100, and actuators for a braking system to decelerate the vehicle 100.

[0018] The vehicle control device 110 is composed of a computer comprising a processor 111, a memory 112, an input / output interface 113, and an internal bus 114. The processor 111, the memory 112, and the input / output interface 113 are connected via the internal bus 114 to enable bidirectional communication. The input / output interface 113 is connected to an actuator group 120 and a communication device 130. The processor 111 executes a program PG1 stored in the memory 112 to realize various functions, including those of a vehicle control unit 115 and a calculation unit 116.

[0019] The vehicle control unit 115 drives the vehicle 100 by controlling the actuator group 120. The vehicle control unit 115 can drive the vehicle 100 by controlling the actuator group 120 using the driving control signal received from the server 200. The driving control signal is a control signal for driving the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the driving control signal includes the acceleration and steering angle of the vehicle 100 as parameters. In other embodiments, the driving control signal may include the speed of the vehicle 100 as a parameter instead of, or in addition to, the acceleration of the vehicle 100.

[0020] The calculation unit 116 calculates the magnitude of the peripheral speed of the wheels of the vehicle 100. The magnitude of the peripheral speed of the wheels can be determined using the number of rotations per unit time of the wheels and the circumference of the wheels. The number of rotations of the wheels is measured by a rotation speed sensor 140 of the vehicle 100. The measured number of rotations is transmitted to the calculation unit 116. The circumference of the wheels is stored in memory 112 in advance. The calculation of the magnitude of the peripheral speed of the wheels is not limited to the method described above and may be performed by any method.

[0021] <Configuration of Server 200> Server 200 is composed of a computer comprising a processor 201, memory 202, input / output interface 203, and internal bus 204. The processor 201, memory 202, and input / output interface 203 are connected via the internal bus 204 to enable bidirectional communication. A communication device 205 for communicating with various devices outside of Server 200 is connected to the input / output interface 203. The communication device 205 can communicate with the vehicle 100 by wireless communication and can communicate with each sensor 300 by wired or wireless communication. The processor 201 implements various functions, including the functions of the first acquisition unit 211, the second acquisition unit 212, and the remote control unit 213, by executing the program PG2 stored in the memory 202.

[0022] The first acquisition unit 211 acquires the magnitude of the first speed, which is the peripheral speed of the rollers in the inspection equipment 500, which will be described later. Details will be described later.

[0023] The second acquisition unit 212 acquires the magnitude of the second speed, which is the peripheral speed of the wheels of the vehicle 100, while the vehicle 100 is being inspected using the inspection equipment 500 described later. The magnitude of the second speed is calculated by the calculation unit 116 described above.

[0024] The remote control unit 213 acquires detection results from sensors, generates a driving control signal to control the actuator group 120 of the vehicle 100 using the detection results, and controls the unmanned operation of the vehicle 100 by transmitting the driving control signal to the vehicle 100. In addition to the driving control signal, the remote control unit 213 may also generate and output control signals to control various auxiliary equipment and actuators that operate various devices such as wipers, power windows, and lamps, which are provided on the vehicle 100. In other words, the remote control unit 213 may operate these various devices and auxiliary equipment by remote control.

[0025] Furthermore, the remote control unit 213 increases the braking force of the vehicle 100 when it determines that there is a risk of the wheels deviating from the rollers, using at least one of the magnitude of the first speed acquired by the first acquisition unit 211 and the magnitude of the second speed acquired by the second acquisition unit 212. In this embodiment, "when it is determined that there is a risk of the wheels deviating from the rollers" means when the difference between the magnitude of the first speed and the magnitude of the second speed exceeds a predetermined range. The increase in braking force is achieved by transmitting a control signal to the brake device of the vehicle 100. Details will be described later. The remote control unit 213 corresponds to the "control unit" in this disclosure.

[0026] <Configuration of Inspection Equipment 500> Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of inspection equipment 500. Inspection equipment 500 performs inspection of vehicle 100 using rollers RL. Inspection equipment 500 performs inspection of a display device that displays the speed of vehicle 100, for example. Inspection equipment 500 comprises a plurality of rollers RL, a rotation speed sensor 550, an equipment control device 530, a communication device 520, and a display device 540.

[0027] Each of the multiple rollers RL is embedded in the road surface so that a portion of it is exposed. Each roller RL is configured to rotate while supporting the wheel WL of the vehicle 100. Each roller RL has a rotation axis aligned with the left-right direction of the vehicle 100. Each roller RL is made of metal. In this embodiment, one wheel WL is supported by being sandwiched between two rollers RL arranged along the front-rear direction of the vehicle 100. If the vehicle 100 has four wheels, one inspection device 500 is provided with eight rollers RL. Each roller RL has a similar configuration to one another. Each roller RL rotates in accordance with the rotation of the wheel WL. As a result, the vehicle 100 supported by multiple rollers RL can rotate its wheel WL without moving in the front-rear direction. The vehicle 100 may have any number of wheels WL, and the wheels WL may be supported by any number of rollers RL.

[0028] The rotation speed sensor 550 detects the rotation speed of the roller RL. The detected rotation speed is transmitted to the equipment control device 530.

[0029] The equipment control device 530 is composed of a computer comprising a processor 531, a memory 532, an input / output interface 533, and an internal bus 534. The processor 531, the memory 532, and the input / output interface 533 are connected via the internal bus 534 to enable bidirectional communication. A communication device 520 and a rotation speed sensor 550 are also connected to the input / output interface 533. In this embodiment, the communication device 520 communicates with the server 200 by wireless or wired communication. The communication device 520 may also communicate with the vehicle 100 by wireless communication. The processor 531 implements various functions, including the function of a roller measuring unit 591, by executing the program PG3 stored in the memory 532.

[0030] The roller measurement unit 591 measures the magnitude of the peripheral speed of the roller RL using the rotational speed of the roller RL detected by the rotational speed sensor 550. Specifically, the roller measurement unit 591 calculates the magnitude of the peripheral speed of the roller RL using the rotational speed of the roller RL per unit time and the outer circumference of the roller RL. The roller measurement unit 591 transmits the calculated magnitude of the peripheral speed of the roller RL to the server 200. This magnitude of speed is the magnitude of the first speed acquired by the first acquisition unit 211 described above.

[0031] The display device 540 displays various information related to the inspection performed by the inspection equipment 500. For example, the display device 540 displays the first speed measured by the roller measuring unit 591 in real time.

[0032] <Vehicle 100 Driving Control> Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for driving control of vehicle 100 in the first embodiment. This procedure is performed to drive vehicle 100 in an unmanned manner. In the processing procedure of Figure 4, the processor 201 of the server 200 functions as a remote control unit 213 by executing program PG2. Also, the processor 111 of vehicle 100 functions as a vehicle control unit 115 by executing program PG1.

[0033] In step S1, the processor 201 of the server 200 acquires vehicle position information using the detection result output from the sensor 300. The vehicle position information is the position information that forms the basis for generating the driving control signal. In this embodiment, the vehicle position information includes the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 in the global coordinate system GC of the factory FC. Specifically, in step S1, the processor 201 acquires vehicle position information using the captured image acquired from the camera, which is the sensor 300.

[0034] In detail, in step S1, the processor 201 detects the outline of the vehicle 100 from the captured image, calculates the coordinates of the vehicle 100's positioning point in the coordinate system of the captured image, i.e., the local coordinate system, and obtains the position of the vehicle 100 by converting the calculated coordinates to coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The outline of the vehicle 100 included in the captured image can be detected, for example, by inputting the captured image into a detection model DM that utilizes artificial intelligence. The detection model DM is prepared, for example, within or outside the system 50 and stored in the memory 202 of the server 200. Examples of the detection model DM include a pre-trained machine learning model that has been trained to implement either semantic segmentation or instance segmentation. As this machine learning model, for example, a convolutional neural network (hereinafter referred to as CNN) trained by supervised learning using a training dataset can be used. The training dataset includes, for example, multiple training images containing the vehicle 100, and labels indicating whether each region in the training images represents the vehicle 100 or a region other than the vehicle 100. During CNN training, it is preferable that the CNN parameters are updated using backpropagation to reduce the error between the output result of the detection model DM and the labels. The processor 201 can also obtain the orientation of the vehicle 100 by, for example, using the optical flow method to estimate the direction of the vehicle 100's movement vector calculated from the positional changes of the vehicle 100's feature points between frames of the captured images.

[0035] In step S2, the processor 201 of the server 200 determines the next target location to which the vehicle 100 should go. In this embodiment, the target location is represented by X, Y, and Z coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The memory 202 of the server 200 pre-stores a reference route RR, which is the route that the vehicle 100 should travel. The route is represented by a node indicating the starting point, nodes indicating waypoints, a node indicating the destination, and links connecting each node. The processor 201 uses the vehicle position information and the reference route RR to determine the next target location to which the vehicle 100 should go. The processor 201 determines the target location on the reference route RR beyond the current location of the vehicle 100.

[0036] In step S3, the processor 201 of the server 200 generates a driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100 toward the determined target position. The processor 201 calculates the vehicle's speed from the change in the vehicle's position and compares the calculated speed with the target speed. Overall, the processor 201 determines the acceleration so that the vehicle 100 accelerates if the speed is lower than the target speed, and determines the acceleration so that the vehicle 100 decelerates if the speed is higher than the target speed. Furthermore, if the vehicle 100 is located on the reference path RR, the processor 201 determines the steering angle and acceleration so that the vehicle 100 does not deviate from the reference path RR, and if the vehicle 100 is not located on the reference path RR, in other words, if the vehicle 100 has deviated from the reference path RR, the processor 201 determines the steering angle and acceleration so that the vehicle 100 returns to the reference path RR.

[0037] In step S4, the processor 201 of the server 200 transmits the generated driving control signal to the vehicle 100. The processor 201 repeats the acquisition of vehicle position information, determination of target position, generation of driving control signal, and transmission of driving control signal at predetermined intervals.

[0038] In step S5, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 receives a driving control signal transmitted from the server 200. In step S6, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 controls the actuator group 120 using the received driving control signal, thereby driving the vehicle 100 at the acceleration and steering angle indicated in the driving control signal. The processor 111 repeats the reception of the driving control signal and the control of the actuator group 120 at predetermined intervals. According to the system 50 in this embodiment, the vehicle 100 can be driven by remote control, and the vehicle 100 can be moved without using transport equipment such as cranes or conveyors.

[0039] <Braking Control of Vehicle 100> Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for braking control of vehicle 100. Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating braking control. Braking control is performed to control the direction in which the wheel WL deviates from the roller RL when an abnormality occurs during inspection of vehicle 100 in the inspection equipment 500. In this embodiment, "controlling the direction in which the wheel WL deviates from the roller RL" means controlling the direction in which the wheel WL deviates from the roller RL in the opposite direction to the drive direction. An abnormality includes abnormalities in the inspection equipment 500 and abnormalities in vehicle 100. For example, an abnormality in the inspection equipment 500 relates to the rotation of the roller RL, and an abnormality in vehicle 100 relates to the rotation of the wheel WL. An abnormality includes, for example, a failure of the bearings constituting the wheel WL or the roller RL, or a failure of the speed measurement sensor of vehicle 100 or the inspection equipment 500.

[0040] As shown in the upper part of Figure 6, an example will be described in which inspection by the inspection equipment 500 is performed while the wheel WL rotates in the direction that moves the vehicle 100 forward. The upper part of Figure 6 shows the normal state when no abnormality has occurred. The roller RL rotates in the opposite direction to the rotation direction of the wheel WL.

[0041] As shown in Figure 5, in step S10, the first acquisition unit 211 acquires the magnitude of the first speed, and the second acquisition unit 212 acquires the magnitude of the second speed.

[0042] In step S20, the remote control unit 213 determines whether the difference between the magnitude of the acquired first speed and the magnitude of the second speed is within a predetermined range. The predetermined range is set as a range of differences such that the wheel WL does not deviate from the roller RL.

[0043] When it is determined that the difference between the magnitude of the acquired first speed and the magnitude of the second speed exceeds the predetermined range (step S20: YES), the remote control unit 213 increases the braking force of the vehicle 100 to cause the wheel WL to deviate from the roller RL (step S30). When the difference between the magnitude of the first speed and the magnitude of the second speed exceeds the predetermined range, there is a high possibility that an abnormality has occurred in the inspection facility 500 or the vehicle 100. As shown in the lower part of FIG. 6, when the braking force of the vehicle 100 increases, the wheel WL deviates from the roller RL in the direction opposite to the direction in which the wheel WL was driving. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the wheel WL deviates from the roller RL in the reverse direction.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5, when it is determined that the difference between the magnitude of the acquired first speed and the magnitude of the second speed does not exceed the predetermined range (step S20: NO), the process ends.

[0045] The braking process shown in FIG. 5 is repeatedly executed during the execution of the inspection by the inspection facility 500.

[0046] According to the system 50 of the first embodiment described above, when the difference between the magnitude of the acquired first speed and the magnitude of the second speed exceeds the predetermined range, the remote control unit 213 increases the braking force of the vehicle 100 to cause the wheel WL to deviate from the roller RL. Therefore, the wheel WL can be made to deviate in the direction opposite to the driving direction of the vehicle 100 in the inspection facility 500. For example, when the wheel WL is being driven in the forward direction in the inspection facility 500, the wheel WL can be made to deviate in the reverse direction.

[0047] Also, according to the system 50 of the first embodiment, the braking force of the vehicle 100 is increased to cause the wheel WL to deviate from the roller RL. Therefore, compared with a configuration that increases the driving force of the vehicle 100 to cause the wheel WL to deviate from the roller RL, the circumferential speed of the wheel WL can be easily changed in a shorter time. For this reason, the wheel WL can be made to deviate from the roller RL in a shorter time.

[0048] B. Second Embodiment: FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the system 50v in the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the system 50v is different from the first embodiment in that it does not include the server 200. Also, the vehicle 100v in this embodiment can travel by autonomous control of the vehicle 100v. For other configurations, they are the same as those in the first embodiment unless otherwise specified.

[0049] In this embodiment, the processor 111v of the vehicle control device 110v functions as the vehicle control unit 115v by executing the program PG1 stored in the memory 112v. The vehicle control unit 115v acquires the output result from the sensor, generates a driving control signal using the output result, and outputs the generated driving control signal to operate the actuator group 120, thereby enabling the vehicle 100v to travel by autonomous control. In this embodiment, in addition to the program PG1, a detection model DM and a reference path RR are stored in the memory 112v in advance.

[0050] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the driving control of the vehicle 100v in the second embodiment. In the processing procedure of FIG. 8, the processor 111v of the vehicle 100v functions as the vehicle control unit 115v by executing the program PG1.

[0051] In step S901, the processor 111v of the vehicle control device 110v acquires vehicle position information using the detection result output from the camera, which is the sensor 300. In step S902, the processor 111v determines the target position to which the vehicle 100v should next go. In step S903, the processor 111v generates a driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100v toward the determined target position. In step S904, the processor 111v controls the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100v according to the parameters expressed in the driving control signal. The processor 111v repeats the acquisition of vehicle position information, determination of the target position, generation of the driving control signal, and control of the actuators at a predetermined cycle. According to the system 50v in this embodiment, the vehicle 100v can be driven by autonomous control of the vehicle 100v without remote control of the vehicle 100v by the server 200.

[0052] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 7, the processor 111v of this embodiment also functions as a first acquisition unit 125v and a second acquisition unit 135v by executing the program PG1 stored in memory 112. Each of the first acquisition unit 125v and the second acquisition unit 135v has the same functions as the first acquisition unit 211 and the second acquisition unit 212 of the first embodiment. Therefore, in this embodiment, the same processing as the braking control shown in Figure 5 is executed by the processor 111v of the vehicle 100v. Note that the vehicle control unit 115v in this embodiment corresponds to the "control unit" in this disclosure.

[0053] The system 50v of the second embodiment described above can also perform driving control and braking control of the vehicle 100, similar to the system 50 of the first and second embodiments.

[0054] C. Other Embodiment 1: (C1) In each of the above embodiments, the magnitude of the braking force may be adjusted according to the difference between the magnitude of the first speed and the magnitude of the second speed. For example, the braking force may be adjusted to increase as the difference between the magnitude of the first speed and the magnitude of the second speed increases. In such a configuration, the relationship between the difference and the braking force may be linear. Alternatively, the relationship between the difference and the braking force may be expressed as a step function. With such a configuration, by setting an appropriate braking force, the speed of the vehicle 100 after the wheel WL deviates from the roller RL can be suppressed.

[0055] (C2) In each of the above embodiments, the remote control unit 213 or the vehicle control unit 115v may increase the braking force to a first braking force if the magnitude of the acquired first speed is greater than the magnitude of the acquired second speed and the difference between the magnitudes of the first speed and the second speed exceeds a predetermined range, and may increase the braking force to a second braking force greater than the first braking force if the magnitude of the acquired second speed is greater than the magnitude of the acquired first speed and the difference between the magnitudes of the first speed and the second speed exceeds a predetermined range. If the circumferential speed of the roller RL is greater than the circumferential speed of the wheel WL, it is highly likely that some abnormality has already occurred in the vehicle 100 or the inspection equipment 500 and that the wheel WL will soon deviate from the roller RL. In such a case, by increasing the braking force to a relatively small first braking force, the circumferential speed of the wheel WL can be gradually reduced, and the speed of the vehicle 100 when the wheel WL deviates from the roller RL can be suppressed. Furthermore, if the peripheral speed of the wheel WL is greater than the peripheral speed of the roller RL, the braking force is increased to a relatively large second braking force. This reduces the peripheral speed of the wheel WL in a relatively short time, allowing the peripheral speed of the roller RL to quickly exceed that of the wheel WL. In other words, it is possible to suppress the wheel WL from deviating from the roller RL in the driving direction and to cause the wheel WL to deviate in the opposite direction to the driving direction.

[0056] (C3) In each of the above embodiments, the magnitude of the braking force may be constant, regardless of the difference between the magnitude of the first speed and the magnitude of the second speed.

[0057] (C4) In each of the above embodiments, the vehicle 100 was driven in the forward direction while being supported by the roller RL on the inspection equipment 500, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The vehicle 100 may be driven in the reverse direction while being supported by the roller RL on the inspection equipment 500. In this configuration, the wheel WL can be deviated in the forward direction.

[0058] (C5) In each of the above embodiments, a retraction space may be provided in the direction of the wheel WL's deviation before the inspection is performed. The retraction space is a place for the vehicle 100 to move to when the wheel WL deviates from the roller RL. In the example described in the first embodiment above, the retraction space is provided behind the inspection equipment 500. The retraction space may also be provided as part of the inspection equipment 500. The retraction space is provided in advance as an area where entry by inspectors is prohibited. The retraction space may be provided with flooring or the like to reduce the speed of the vehicle 100.

[0059] (C6) In each of the above embodiments, the memories 112, 112v, 202, and 532 may be any storage device. Such storage devices include, for example, an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), and a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0060] (C7) In each of the above embodiments, at least one of the functions of the first acquisition unit 211, the second acquisition unit 212, and the remote control unit 213 may be performed by the inspection equipment 500.

[0061] (C8) In each of the above embodiments, the remote control unit 213 or the vehicle control unit 115v may increase the braking force of the vehicle 100 and cause the wheel WL to deviate from the roller RL if it determines that there is a risk of the wheel WL deviating from the roller RL by using at least one of the magnitudes of the first speed and the second speed. "When it is determined that there is a risk of the wheel WL deviating from the roller RL" means, for example, when the acceleration of the wheel WL or the roller RL exceeds a predetermined threshold. That is, the remote control unit 213 or the vehicle control unit 115v may increase the braking force of the vehicle 100 if it determines that the acceleration of the roller RL exceeds a predetermined threshold by using the magnitude of the first speed. Alternatively, the remote control unit 213 or the vehicle control unit 115v may increase the braking force of the vehicle 100 if it determines that the acceleration of the wheel WL exceeds a predetermined threshold by using the magnitude of the second speed. Note that acceleration includes both positive and negative values. The predetermined thresholds are stored, for example, in the memories 202 and 112v. With this configuration, when the acceleration of the roller RL or wheel WL exceeds a threshold and there is a high probability that the wheel WL will deviate from the roller RL, the wheel WL can be deviated in the opposite direction to the driving direction of the vehicle 100 in the inspection equipment 500. In other words, the direction in which the wheel WL deviates can be controlled.

[0062] D. Other Embodiments 2: (D1) In each of the above embodiments, the sensor 300 is not limited to a camera, but may be, for example, a distance measuring device. The distance measuring device may be, for example, LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). In this case, the detection result output by the sensor 300 may be three-dimensional point cloud data representing the vehicle 100. In this case, the server 200 and the vehicle 100 may acquire vehicle position information by template matching using the three-dimensional point cloud data as the detection result and pre-prepared reference point cloud data.

[0063] (D2) In the first embodiment described above, the server 200 performs the processing from acquiring vehicle position information to generating a driving control signal. In contrast, the vehicle 100 may perform at least a part of the processing from acquiring vehicle position information to generating a driving control signal. For example, the following forms (1) to (3) may be used.

[0064] (1) The server 200 may acquire vehicle location information, determine the next target location that the vehicle 100 should head to, and generate a route from the vehicle 100's current location, as shown in the acquired vehicle location information, to the target location. The server 200 may generate a route to the target location between the current location and the destination, or it may generate a route to the destination. The server 200 may transmit the generated route to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may generate a driving control signal so that the vehicle 100 travels along the route received from the server 200, and may use the generated driving control signal to control the actuator group 120.

[0065] (2) The server 200 may acquire vehicle location information and transmit the acquired vehicle location information to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may determine the next target location to which the vehicle 100 should go, generate a route from the vehicle 100's current location shown in the received vehicle location information to the target location, generate a driving control signal so that the vehicle 100 travels along the generated route, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal.

[0066] (3) In the embodiments of (1) and (2) above, the vehicle 100 is equipped with internal sensors, and the detection results output from the internal sensors may be used in at least one of the generation of a route and the generation of a driving control signal. The internal sensors are sensors mounted on the vehicle 100. The internal sensors may include, for example, sensors that detect the motion state of the vehicle 100, sensors that detect the operating state of each part of the vehicle 100, and sensors that detect the environment around the vehicle 100. Specifically, the internal sensors may include, for example, cameras, LiDAR, millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic sensors, GPS sensors, acceleration sensors, gyro sensors, etc. For example, in the embodiment of (1) above, the server 200 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the route when generating a route. In the embodiment of (1) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the driving control signal when generating a driving control signal. In the embodiment of (2) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the route when generating a route. In the embodiment described in (2) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection result of the internal sensor and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal.

[0067] (D3) In the second embodiment described above, the vehicle 100v is equipped with an internal sensor, and the detection result output from the internal sensor may be used in at least one of the generation of the route and the generation of the driving control signal. For example, the vehicle 100v may acquire the detection result from the internal sensor and reflect the detection result from the internal sensor in the route when generating the route. The vehicle 100v may acquire the detection result from the internal sensor and reflect the detection result from the internal sensor in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal.

[0068] (D4) In the second embodiment described above, the vehicle 100v acquires vehicle position information using the detection results of the sensor 300. In contrast, the vehicle 100v may be equipped with an internal sensor, which may acquire vehicle position information using the detection results of the internal sensor, determine the next target location to which the vehicle 100v should go, generate a route from the vehicle 100v's current location to the target location as shown in the acquired vehicle position information, generate a driving control signal for driving along the generated route, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal. In this case, the vehicle 100v can drive without using the detection results of the sensor 300 at all. The vehicle 100v may also acquire the target arrival time and congestion information from outside the vehicle 100v and reflect the target arrival time and congestion information in at least one of the route and the driving control signal.

[0069] (D5) In the first embodiment described above, the server 200 automatically generates a driving control signal to be transmitted to the vehicle 100. Alternatively, the server 200 may generate a driving control signal to be transmitted to the vehicle 100 in accordance with the operation of an external operator located outside the vehicle 100. For example, an external operator may operate a control device that includes a display for displaying captured images output from the sensor 300, a steering wheel for remotely controlling the vehicle 100, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a communication device for communicating with the server 200 via wired or wireless communication, and the server 200 may generate a driving control signal in accordance with the operation applied to the control device.

[0070] (D6) In each of the above embodiments, the vehicle 100 only needs to have a configuration that allows it to move by unmanned operation, and may take the form of a platform having the configuration described below. Specifically, in order for the vehicle 100 to perform the three functions of "driving," "turning," and "stopping" by unmanned operation, it is sufficient to have at least a vehicle control device 110 and an actuator group 120. When the vehicle 100 acquires information from the outside for unmanned operation, the vehicle 100 may further have a communication device 130. That is, the vehicle 100 that can move by unmanned operation does not need to have at least some of the interior parts such as the driver's seat and dashboard attached, it does not need to have at least some of the exterior parts such as the bumper and fender attached, and it does not need to have a body shell attached. In this case, the remaining parts such as the body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 before the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory FC, or the remaining parts such as the body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 after the vehicle 100 has been shipped from the factory FC without the remaining parts such as the body shell being attached to the vehicle 100. Each component may be attached to the vehicle 100 from any direction, such as the top, bottom, front, rear, right, or left side, and may be attached from the same direction or from different directions. The positioning of the platform can also be determined in the same way as for the vehicle 100 in the first embodiment.

[0071] (D7) The vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining multiple modules. A module means a unit composed of one or more parts grouped together according to the configuration and function of the vehicle 100. For example, the platform of the vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining a front module that constitutes the front part of the platform, a central module that constitutes the central part of the platform, and a rear module that constitutes the rear part of the platform. The number of modules that constitute the platform is not limited to three, but may be two or fewer, or four or more. In addition to the platform, or in place of the platform, parts of the vehicle 100 that are different from the platform may be modularized. Various modules may also include any exterior parts such as bumpers and grilles, or any interior parts such as seats and consoles. Furthermore, not limited to the vehicle 100, any type of mobile body may be manufactured by combining multiple modules. Such modules may be manufactured, for example, by joining multiple parts by welding or fasteners, or by integrally molding at least a part of the module as a single part by casting. The molding method of integrally molding at least a part of the module as a single part is also called gigacast or megacast. By using Gigacast, parts of a mobile body that were conventionally formed by joining multiple components can be formed as single components. For example, the front module, central module, and rear module mentioned above may be manufactured using Gigacast.

[0072] (D8) Transporting the vehicle 100 using the unmanned operation of the vehicle 100 is also called "self-propelled transport." The configuration for realizing self-propelled transport is also called a "vehicle remote control autonomous driving transport system." Furthermore, a production method that uses self-propelled transport to produce the vehicle 100 is also called "self-propelled production." In self-propelled production, for example, at a factory cluster (FC) that manufactures the vehicle 100, at least a portion of the transport of the vehicle 100 is realized by self-propelled transport.

[0073] (D9) In each of the above embodiments, some or all of the functions and processes implemented in software may be implemented in hardware. Also, some or all of the functions and processes implemented in hardware may be implemented in software. As hardware for implementing the various functions in each of the above embodiments, various circuits such as integrated circuits and discrete circuits may be used.

[0074] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from its spirit. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each form described in the summary of the invention can be replaced or combined as appropriate in order to solve some or all of the above-described problems, or to achieve some or all of the above-described effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate.

[0075] 50, 50V... System, 100, 100V... Vehicle, 110, 110V... Vehicle control device, 111, 111V, 201, 531... Processor, 112, 112V, 202, 532... Memory, 113, 203, 533... Input / Output Interface, 114, 204, 534... Internal Bus, 115, 115V... Vehicle control unit, 116... Calculation unit, 120... Actuator group, 125V, 211... First acquisition unit, 130, 205, 520... Pass Signaling device, 135v, 212... Second acquisition unit, 140, 550... Rotation speed sensor, 200... Server, 213... Remote control unit, 300... Sensor, 500... Inspection equipment, 530... Equipment control device, 540... Display device, 591... Roller measurement unit, DM... Detection model, FC... Factory, GC... Global coordinate system, PG1, PG2, PG3... Program, PL1... First location, PL2... Second location, RL... Roller, RR... Reference path, TR... Track, WL... Wheel

Claims

1. A system comprising: a first acquisition unit that acquires the magnitude of a first speed, which is the peripheral speed of a roller, from an inspection facility having a roller that is rotatable while supporting the wheel of a vehicle and performing an inspection of the vehicle using the roller; a second acquisition unit that acquires the magnitude of a second speed, which is the peripheral speed of the wheel, while performing the inspection using the inspection facility; and a control unit that, when it is determined that there is a risk of the wheel deviating from the roller using at least one of the acquired magnitude of the first speed and the acquired magnitude of the second speed, increases the braking force of the vehicle and causes the wheel to deviate from the roller.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit increases the braking force of the vehicle and causes the wheels to deviate from the rollers when the difference between the magnitude of the acquired first speed and the magnitude of the acquired second speed exceeds a predetermined range.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the control unit adjusts the magnitude of the braking force according to the difference.

4. A system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the control unit increases the braking force to a first braking force when the magnitude of the acquired first speed is greater than the magnitude of the acquired second speed and the difference exceeds the predetermined range, and increases the braking force to a second braking force greater than the first braking force when the magnitude of the acquired second speed is greater than the magnitude of the acquired first speed and the difference exceeds the predetermined range.

5. A control method comprising: obtaining the magnitude of a first speed, which is the peripheral speed of a roller, from an inspection facility having a roller that can rotate while supporting the wheels of a vehicle and performing an inspection of the vehicle using the roller; obtaining the magnitude of a second speed, which is the peripheral speed of the wheels, while performing the inspection using the inspection facility; and increasing the braking force of the vehicle and causing the wheels to deviate from the roller when the difference between the obtained magnitude of the first speed and the obtained magnitude of the second speed exceeds a predetermined range.

6. A control method according to claim 5, further comprising providing a retraction space in the direction in which the wheel deviates from the roller before the inspection is performed.

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